NH Senate passes child services bill

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The Senate is in favor of restoring the Children in Need of Services program, which was severely cut in 2011, leaving police, schools and social service providers scrambling to help New Hampshire's at-risk youth.

They voted unanimously Thursday to restore a broader eligibility for the program allowing the courts to intervene with kids determined likely to become delinquent. Prior to the cuts, the program served close to 400 kids at any given time but currently serves only 50-60 of the most extreme cases.

The bill also makes the detention of minors in secure facilities a last resort. Among other changes to juvenile detention laws, it requires nonviolent juvenile offenders be paroled after six months.